Written by: Simon Beaufoy
Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: [5/5]
Belief in destiny serves as catnip for cynics in the way anyone could possibly believe some aspect of life are written. In some areas of life the doubt could certainly hold water but when looking at the engrossing story of Slumdog Millionaire, any frozen heart will certainly melt at its loveliness and overall excellence. An undeniable crowdpleaser and one feeling like a complete meal with the amount of mileage we receive compared to its runtime.
Facing scrutiny by the police for allegedly cheating on the game show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) tells the story of his life to explain how he knew the answers to the difficult questions. As we learn more about his life he discusses his journey in trying to find and reconnect with longtime friend Latika (Freida Pinto).
Those who don’t believe in the absolutism of formal education could make the argument life serves as the ultimate teacher. Evidently, Jamal’s journey explains how he could pull out the answers he does when trying to win the grand prize of 20,000,000 rupees. The plot thus becomes Jamal’s trek from childhood to the present day describing how monumental and passing moments in his life gave him the opportunity to get those answers right, which certainly appears quite farfetched but that’s the magic of movies. In all seriousness with all that said, it ultimately displays how life can teach so much but we have to remain receptive to its lessons.
Additionally, through this journey of recollection we see this interconnected story between Jamal, his brother Salim (Madhur Mittal), and Latika as the trauma they initially share and then inflict on each other keeps them tethered. Seriously, the number of times these characters lose each other and then find one another reaches a level of absurdity. Especially, when you consider the hundreds of millions of people living in India and how they each happen to intersect on multiple occasions. Jamal’s journey ultimately centers on saving Latika from the horrendous situations she always gets drug into making for an equally frustrating and heartwarming story about destiny surrounding their love story.
These three characters thus symbolize integral aspects of the narrative as we have the cutthroat Salim who will do whatever it takes to reach the top, the innocent and pure Latika, and the brave persevering Jamal who stops at nothing. Each of them shines bright in their corners and add a filling to the story necessary for it to fully work and deliver in the ways it does. Salim definitely proves on more than one occasion he mostly cares about his own gain but still demonstrates a glimmer of care when it comes to the welfare of his brother. Jamal has this level of persistence that knows no bounds and often leaves me worrying for the guy that he will get himself killed on this quest to get to Latika.
A distinct earnestness exists throughout this feature as it certainly wears its heart on its sleeve that will leave a smile on your face on multiple occasions but this narrative certainly delves into some very dark material as it displays the traumatic events these three characters experience in such a short life. From feeling religiously-motivated violence and human trafficking, these characters have experienced more trauma than most Americans could even imagine. It remains wholly important to this story as it really displays the unlikelihood of this all having a happy ending yet it still perseveres much like Jamal. This feature carries an excellent balance in those moments of joy as shown in all of the hustles and schemes these brothers needed to engage in for their own survival and horrid fear to make this feel complete and fulfilling.
While famously or infamously known for its caste system, the class divisions in India become quite prominent in this story, especially when viewing Jamal’s experience on the game show. The presenter, Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor) certainly has a disdain for seeing Jamal come in as a slumdog to potentially win the grand prize. It comes from this grounded belief of certain lifestyles and outcomes available based on where you land in the system, and Jamal’s success in this game show defies everything. This gets even more complex for Kumar when you learn his backstory and how much he wants to pull the ladder up. Consistently mentioning Jamal’s humble profession of the time as a chaiwala, or a tea seller at a call center demonstrates how much disbelief exists and this true underdog story continues to build these moments toward destiny.
One surprising and complimentary feature of this film comes from its excellent pacing. It continually confounds me how this feature only sits at two hours. When entrenched in this story, this journey completely sucks you in as it explores three distinct periods in the lives of three characters. It creates this feeling allowing us to feel like we know these characters and completely watched them grow up right before our eyes. It elicits a similar feeling to watching something like Boyhood in its life-affirming and eclipsing story and the actors they brought together in casting these characters definitely assisted in buying the narrative as a whole. Two hours have never felt so short but also so satisfying.
Bringing us into various aspects of India, the scouting of the on-sight production design and set locations of this feature astounds in how it displays the different sides of the vast country comprising this life experience for Jamal, Latika, and Salim. The initial scene as young kids, when they run away from police inside their neighborhood, is truly stunning in how it encompasses where they live and the difficulty involved with it. Then you have the vast city-like environment of Bombay as they get older and move out of where they inhabited before. It displays the diversity of locations and where one can find themselves in this vast nation with the likelihood of a mass collection of people never too far away.
Walking away from a viewing of Slumdog Millionaire without a big smile on your face cannot be possible because of the way it heavily engrosses you into an unflinchingly terrific story. A tale so rich in hope, fear, pain, and loss and delivers something so thoroughly enrapturing in how it all gets presented. Looking back at the perfect storm that occurred back when this film saw its release that led it all the way to a Best Picture victory serves as its own story but truly speaks to how this movie left a mark in the hearts of all who watched. This feature did just that to me and I only continue to love it more with each watch as it builds up your belief in good people in a bad world, which we all need to see every once in a while.
Films with Josh 
